I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France Chapter 666 666: Survival or Death

Everything went according to Shire's plan.

The next day, the rit Newspaper, for once, shed its usual low profile and devoted its entire front page to denounce the capitalists for hoarding supplies and inflating prices.

It ticulously listed the comparison of supplies in France after the Echo Detector victory, proving with facts that after Shire's notable triumph, the supplies landing in France instantly increased by half, almost doubling by now.

However, where did these supplies go?

Why haven't they reached the hands of those who need them?

A series of photos provided solid evidence showing major capitalists transporting supplies into warehouses.

There were also scenes of the Bernard Group's supplies sold at fair prices being maliciously bought up!

Of course, all these photos were provided by Lucia, who had ticulously prepared for this mont.

Finally, Kobudo fiercely criticized in the article:

"What are the capitalists doing while our soldiers are bravely fighting the enemy on the front lines?"

"They are trying to starve the soldiers' families, exhausting them through hoarded supplies by all ans."

"Even worse, they plan to bla everything on Shire, making people believe that it all started because of Shire!"

"All of this is nothing but lies woven by the capitalists."

"What they want to destroy is not only Shire but also the faith of France, the spirit of the soldiers resisting invasion, and the entire nation!"

...

The Little Daily precisely followed up.

It used a cartoon to satirize this phenonon: several well-dressed gentlen sucking blood with rubber tubes, while grotesquely commanding civilians ard with kitchen knives and hunting rifles to attack the soldiers fighting the German Army in the trenches from behind.

The caption: Is this what you want?

The article pointedly declared:

"Wake up, Frenchn blinded by lies."

"The capitalists want you to hate and even attack the ritorious individuals of France."

"Only in this way can they firmly grasp their power and wealth!"

...

Finally, the Little Daily thoughtfully provided the addresses of the warehouses where the capitalists hoarded their supplies.

...

The public's anger was instantly ignited.

Young, able-bodied workers and disabled veterans imdiately organized attacks on the capitalists' warehouses, eventually even the elderly and won joined in.

When people opened the warehouses, they were stunned by the mountains of supplies inside.

"Unbelievable, this is all true, they hid the supplies in warehouses but told us it was Shire's fault."

"They would rather let us starve or even die of hunger while the supplies rot in storage, just to make us hate Shire!"

"These bastards, we can't let them off easily, they are traitors to France, spies for the Germans, or have been bought by the Germans!"

...

This logic didn't seem flawed.

As a Frenchman, there was no reason to target the hero leading France to victory, the only reasonable explanation was that they were bought by the Germans.

With this cri labeled, it was no longer just a matter of protesting marches.

The enraged public beat the warehouse managers and henchn who arrived to transfer supplies half to death, then stord into the capitalists' villas, dragged them out, and hanged them from the roadside sycamore trees amid spit and curses.

For a mont, all capitalists in Paris feared for their lives, so were killed, others fled, those who hadn't fled in ti hurried to the city governnt seeking the army's protection with their families.

The people remained relentless, surrounding the city governnt demanding Briand hand over the traitors:

"They are sinners who betrayed France, they should be punished."

"Anyone who protects them is complicit with them."

"Yes, anyone willing to protect the traitors must have taken bribes from the traitors!"

...

Finally, Gali stepped forward to calm the crowd:

"You are right, their cris are unforgivable."

"But I don't think hanging them is the best solution, as there might be larger interest groups behind them."

"Believe , I will trace more traitors through them and bring them to justice under the law!"

Only then did the people's anger slowly subside, and they dispersed contentedly.

...

That afternoon, Gali urgently convened the parliant.

Just as the deputies thought Gali was doing this to address the "uprising," Gali astonished everyone by proposing the warti rationing policy.

Standing at the podium, he waved the docunt in his hand and said to the deputies with a helpless look:

"Gentlen, you know what has happened without having to say it."

"The 'riots' occurred not only in Paris but also in Dunkirk, Nantes, Toulon, and a dozen other cities, it is a national upheaval."

"I have to issue a warning, France is on the brink of collapse, gentlen!"

Saying this, Gali intentionally paused, sweeping the hall with a sharp gaze, a look that contained both mockery and threat.

Under the deputies' fearful stares, Gali continued:

"The frontline situation is grim, we recently weathered a mutiny, which stabilized only through Shire's efforts."

"The battles at Verdun continue, it still requires a large amount of supplies to hope for victory."

"The north bank of the River Som has already fallen, and General Fuxu's defenses on the south bank are in a precarious state."

"At this mont, if nationwide unrest breaks out and cannot be quickly quelled, it will be fatal for France!"

The hall fell silent, the deputies knew Gali was not bluffing but stating the harsh reality at hand.

And if France completely collapsed, it would be detrintal to everyone except the deputies bought by Britain and Germany.

After a long while, Arman's languid voice echoed in the chamber: "So, Minister, what do you think we should do to quickly quell this unrest?"

Gali nodded slightly to Major Fernan waiting below the podium, and Major Fernan imdiately had the docunts distributed to each deputy.

Gali explained: "This is the warti rationing policy, we intend to centrally purchase and distribute the landing supplies."

This decision was imdiately t with opposition from the deputies, many of whom had their interests tied to the capitalists, so with significant shares.

"You can't do this, it is market freedom."

"Doing this will deal a huge blow to France's economy."

"This is governnt overreach into the market, it is dictatorship behavior..."

Gali coldly interrupted the deputies: "Gentlen, it's about survival or death, the choice is yours!"

The hall fell into another deathly silence.

If they didn't agree, they wouldn't get through this juncture, the public wouldn't tolerate the capitalists continuing to manipulate supplies.

Glancing at the deputies who were struck silent by fear, Gali nodded in satisfaction: "Now, let's proceed to vote on this issue!"